Studying abroad requires a significant financial and mental commitment, as you leave your home to move to a foreign country, where you must deal with all difficulties by yourself, in addition to a sudden change in your everyday habits of food, culture, and lifestyle.
On the other hand, attending an institution in a different country offered insight into a different way of living while providing me with a great chance to make new connections and meet a large and diverse student body. After careful consideration of all choices and factors, I decided to pursue my bachelor's degree in BEng (Hons) Computer Systems Engineering in the United Kingdom backed by undue support from my family.
Why did I choose Sheffield?
Sheffield appealed to me since it is a student-friendly city that is also regarded as the safest in the UK. Furthermore, the Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering is the only department in the UK and one of the best in the world dedicated to automation and systems engineering.
How university projects help you become a better student and increase your employability!
University is a place where you can interact with students from different disciplines and develop valuable interpersonal skills and cognitive abilities in the process. As an International Ambassador of the Faculty of Engineering, I get the opportunity to manage university blogs, host open days for prospective students, and conduct campus tours.
I am also an Outreach Officer at Project MarsWorks, where I identify companies and organisations that can fund our enterprise and represent the project at University events and open days.
MarsWorks is a student-led project, equipped with a team of skilled and passionate contributors to design and manufacture a full-size Mars Rover for the Anatolian Rover Challenge, which was held in Turkey in July 2022. Our team was the only one from the UK to qualify for the challenge, and we came in 10th.
I am a member of the operations team and a Rocket Design Engineer for Project Sunride, at the university. We are a student-led rocketry program team that designs and builds rockets to compete in International competitions, winning several awards such as the highest national altitude record for the UK and best flight dynamics.
These roles have allowed me to develop an innovative way of thinking. The activities in both technical and operations teams have given me an overview of roles involving teamwork in professional workspaces.
Additional opportunities at the University
The University also provides a wide range of additional activities, such as student project fairs and tours of engineering facilities across the UK. Moreover, they encourage students to participate in conferences held across the country. One such conference that I attended was the AFBE (Association for Black and Minority Ethnic) conference in London, which focused on diversity, equality, and inclusion for all engineers.
Student Exchange Program
I am currently pursuing the second year of my studies at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore as a study abroad student. The University has partnerships with a variety of institutions which students attend for a year while travelling the world and making new connections. I look forward to this fantastic opportunity before my industrial placement year.
The author is pursuing a BEng (Hons) Computer Systems Engineering course in the Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering (ACSE) at the University of Sheffield, UK.
